Banjo-head.



A. A; FARLAND BANJO. HEAD.1 Amilcmou Plien nov. 6.-'1913.

Patend Deo. '25, '1917.

ITED sTATns PATENTv onirica.

. ALFRED A; .FARLANn or PLAINFIELD, 1 NEWJERSEY.

. BANJO-HEAD;

speiaeatiori of Letters Patent. Patented'Deo. 25,` 1917.V

`Application filed-November 6, .1913. Serial No. 799,584.

To all whom t may concern `Be it known =that I, ALFRED A..-FAP.LAND, a subject of the King of Great Britain, 1resding at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented cer- Another object of the invention is the rovision of a head which will not beaffeet-ed by climatic changes, does not stretch to any great extent, and also will better stand the strain to which thebanjo head must be subjected to secure the best tonal results.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a head for banjos which is simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and etiicient in its purpose, and also which is inexpensive in manufacture. lith these and other. objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claim hereunto appended.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan view of the head, constructed in accordance with the invention prior to the mounting thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same in the course of construction.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the finished head.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View showing a modified form of head.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a further modifcation.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of one part of a straining hoop required in the use of the modified forms of head.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view through the other part of the straining hoop.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View through the straining hoops united with one Amodified form of the head clamped therein.

Fig..9 is anenlarged V:sectional detail on:

line 9 9 of Eig. 3. v

Similar reference characters indicate cor respondingparts throughout the several views inthe drawings.

Referringxto the drawing in detail, the head for a' banjo comprises a.- disk A made from metal, preferably number 38 gagetaggers iron, .the edge of which is cut into for a distanceat intervals radially toward its center to form bendable tongues 2, and thereafterlthe tonguesare painted to form a coating on both sides thereof.

form 3 which is substantially coincident with the sizeof the disk where the shanks of the tongues merge into 4its periphery, and said Shanks are bent down over the upperl edge of the form so that their bodies depend alongside it. A hoop l is now placed around the downturned tongues concentrically ofv the form, after which the tips of said tongues are bent outward and upward beneath and about the hoop 4 to form a bead 7 therefor which incloses the hoop. In event that the tips of the tongues 2 after the cornplete bending thereof project above the level or upper surface of the disk B, they are cut ofi even therewith.

The hoop 4 is fastened to the form 3 in any desirable manner, preferably through the use of staples 5, and thereafter the disk B at the outer surface thereof is ground on a surface grinder to approximately 2/1000 of an inch in thickness. After this has been accomplished the said disk is removed from the form 3 by first withdrawing the staples, and then the tip of each tongue is riveted at 6 to its shank at a point above the hoop 4, as best seen in Fig. 9.

Of course it is to be understood that the manner of fastening the free ends of the tongues may be varied, as the same may be fastened in any desirable manner. lVhen the tips of the tongues 2 have been fastened subsequent to theremoval of the disk from the form, the head has been completed with the exception of the application of two thin coats of paint or enamel C, such as is commonly used on metal, whereupon the said head is ready for use on a banjo by placing it upon the rim thereof, the usual hoops and nuts being used for this purpose. The paint or enamel coating C is placed on both faces of theV disk which adds a little weight thereto and improves the tone produced thereby,

l after the paint has dried, theA disk is placed on a circular and at the saine time prevents rust as well as giving an attractive appearance thereto.

1n Fig. t there is shown amodified form of head, which is made in the form of a pan shaped body D having an annular bead 8 at its peripheral edge, the body being prefer ably of seamless thin sheet metal made in pan shape in any suitable manner. Confined within the annular1 bead 8 is a wire loop 9 which may be soldered or welded therein. The body D is fastened to the form 3 with the bottom thereof upward, and subsequently thereto the said bottom is ground to the required thickness, as hereinbefore mentioned. After the grinding of the bottom of the body D the same is painted or enameled in av similar manner as hereinbefore set forth.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a further modified form of head, which comprises a disk E made from thin sheet metal having a hollow peripheral bead 10 receiving a wire hook 11, which is suitably fastened in the bead, the disk E being ground and coated as hereinbefore set forth.

To use the disk E there is provided a` seco parts 12 and 13 respectively, the same having reversely beveled outside surfaces 11, while the top edge of the part 13 is formed with an annular groove 15, and the part 12 is provided with holes 16 through which are passed screws 17 which are engaged with sockets inthe part 13 for joining the sectional hoop for the clamping of the disk E between the parts 12 and 13. The screws 17 are also passed through .the disk when clamped between the said parts of the sectional hoop, as shown in F ig. 8 of the drawing. The groove 15 in the part 13, of the sectional hoop receives the banjo rim.

lVhat is claimed is :--V The herein described banjo head comprising a hoop, a flexible disk having peripheral tongues, each tongue being bent and passing around the hoop and having its tip overlapped on its shank, and fastening means permanently securing the overlapped portions to each other.

.ALFRED A. FARLAND. Witnesses:

EDWARD E. PHILLIPS, GUS. WV. ANDERSON.

Copies of this patent mav be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

